Transgenderism, in one form or another, is obviously nothing new. It’s a biological fact of life that can be traced as far back as 7000 B.C. For example, among the sexual depictions during the Neolithic and Bronze Age (7000 B.C. - 1700 B.C.) In the Mediterranean are drawings and figurines of "third sex" human figures having female breasts and male genitals, as well as without distinguishing sex characteristics.

1503 BC -- Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut ascends to the throne, the second Egyptian queen to rule. Learning from the disfavor shown to her predecessor, she dons male clothing and a false beard signifying kingship, and reigns until 1482 B.C. She has one daughter, Neferure, who she grooms as successor (male clothing, false beard and all), but Neferure does not live into adulthood.

Elagabalus, Roman Emperor from 218 A.D. - 222 A.D., enjoyed crossdressing and being called the mistress, the wife, and the queen of Hierocles. Elagabalus enhanced his natural good looks with cosmetics. It was said that Elagabalus offered vast sums of money to any physician who could equip him with female genitalia.

After his wife died of the plague in 1347, Rolandino Roncaglia started wearing female dresses and prostituting himself. Rolandino had a female look, voice and mannerisms, though he was biologically a man. because of his appearance, many people considered Rolandino to be a woman.

On March 28th, 1354, Male-to-female transgender women, Rolanda Ronchaia, was arrested by the Signori di Notte, forced to confess to being transgender through the use of torture, and then burned at the stake one week later in Venice, Italy.

John Rykener, known also as Johannes Richer and Eleanor, was arrsted and interrogated in 1395 for cross-dressing. Rykener, who was a transvestite prostitute working mainly in London and Oxford England, claimed to have had many clients including priests, monks and nuns; he said that he preferred priests because they paid better than others. He revealed that one Franciscan friar had given him a gold ring, and that a Carmelite friar and six foreigners, of whom one gave Rykener twelve pence, one twenty pence, and one two shillings.

King Henry III of France frequently cross-dressed. While dressed as a woman, the King was referred to as her majesty by his courtiers.

A colony of cross-dressing men in present day Panama are slaughtered on October 5th, 1513 by Spanish conquistador Vasco Nunez de Balboa.

From 1592 - 1650, Catalina de Erauso (aka Katalina Erauso, La Monja Alférez, Antonio de Erauso, Alonso Díaz Ramírez de Guzmán, and Francisco de Loyola) was a semi-legendary female-to-male crossdresser personality of the Basque Country, Spain and Spanish America who worked as a sailor and enlisted as a soldier in Chile as Alonso Díaz Ramírez de Guzmán.

The first use of the word “transvest” (precursor to the term “transvestite”) is used in 1652 to describe a woman who disguises herself as a man: “Has often did shee please her fancy with the imagination of transvesting herself, and by the help of a Man’s disguise deceiving the eyes of those that watched her deportments?” - Camus’National Paradox, translated by J. Wright.

On June 5th, 1654, Queen Christina of Sweden abdicated her thrown, changed her name to Count Dohna, and lived the rest of her life as a man.

When French explorers Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette first came into contact with the Illini Indians in 1673, they were astonished to discover a subset of Native American Illini men who dressed and acted out the social roles of women. The Illini termed these men “Ikoneta.” They also discovered genetic females who took on a masculine role termed "passing women." The fact is, many American Native tribes had third-gender roles prior to western contact. The proper general term for these individuals were “Two-Spirited,” Though the Europeans called them "Berdaches.” “Berdaches was a derogatory term for genetic males who assumed a feminine role, and the Europeans definition covering a range of third-gender people in different tribes.

Abbe Francois Timoleon de Choisy of Parris, France was a male-to-female transsexual. By a whim of his mother, the boy was dressed like a girl until he was eighteen. After appearing for a short time in men's costume, he resumed women's dress on the advice of Madame de La Fayette. In 1676, Abbe Francois Timoleon de Choisy even attended the Papal inaugural ball in female dress. His memoirs, published postmortem, offer the first written testimony of cross-dressing.

In England during the early 1700's, "Molly Houses" became extremely popular with cross-dressers. Patrons of “Molly houses” dressed in women's clothing and were called "Mollies". “Mollies” would take on a female persona, have a female name, and affect feminine mannerisms and speech. Marriage ceremonies between a “Mollie” and his male lover were enacted to symbolize their partnership and commitment. The most famous “Molly House” was called “Mother Clap's”, open for two years from 1724-1726 in the Holborn area of London. On May 9th, 1726, three men (Gabriel Lawrence, William Griffin, and Thomas Wright) were hanged at Tyburn for buggery (brittish term for sodomy) following a raid of “Mother Clap's”.

Though the allegations have been contested repeatedly throughout history, it is said that Edward Hyde, Governor of New York and New Jersey between 1701 and 1708, was a transvestite who wore female clothing while governing.

In the mid 1700's many female to male transvestites joined Nelson's Navy, and were only discovered when they were "flogged". Once discovered, they were never punished. They often went on stage and became celebrities wowing audiences backed by an all singing and all dancing group of transvestite stars.

Mary Read was a female-to-male crossdressing pirate From 1718 - 1720. For most of her tenure as a pirate, her crew were unaware that Mary was biologically female.

Female-to-male transgender man, Jan van Ant, enlists in the dutch army as a man in 1746.

Alice Hannah Snell, joins Nelson's Navy as James Gray. Gray served as a navy marine until the end of his tour of duty in 1750. Gray’s true birth gender was never discovered while serving in the navy.

Female-to-male transgender Dutch soldier, Jan van Ant, is recognised by a former employer in 1751. Van Ant was put on trial for making a mockery of marriage and by entering an illegal marriage (for marrying a woman), and sentenced to exile from all garrison cities.

The first openly lesbian and transgendered person, Charlotte Clarke, comes out by publishing, "A Narrative of the Life of Mrs. Charlotte Clarke". In the autobiography, Clarke, a flamboyant cross-dressing actress, relates many scandalous things, including her relationship with her "wife," "Mrs. Brown." Although quite famous after this publication, Clarke passes away three years later, penniless and destitute.

19-year old female-to-male cross-dresser, Arthur Douglas, served on board the British Royal Navy’s “Resolution” in 1757 from January-May.

Female-to-male crossdressing sailor, William Chandler (born Mary Lacy, cirka 1740), joins Nelson’s Navy in 1759 after running away from home at age 19. Chandler worked as a servant for a ships carpenter of the British navy until 1763. He then studied as an apprentice to be a shipwright. In 1770. In 1771, Chandler was forced to stop working due to rheumatism, and applied for a pension from the admiralty under his legal name, Mary Lacy, which was granted. As Lacy, She published her memoirs "The Female Shipwright" in 1773.

Female-to-Male cross-dresser, John Meace (Born Joan Meace), enlists in the British Marines in 1762. John’s true birth identity is quickly discovered.

French diplomat, spy and soldier, Chevalier d'Éon, claims claimes to be anatomically a woman, and starts dressing as such in 1777. Doctors who examined the body after d'Éon's death discovered that he was anatomically male. d'Éon is considered to be one of the earliest openly transvestite or transgender people in History.

On July 22nd, 1777, a transgender man known only as Ann Marrow was convicted at Guildhall for wearing men's clothes and marrying three women. He was ordered to stand pillory and serve six month's in jail. He did not go down well with the crowd and from the objects that they threw, he was blinded.

In 1781, naval seaman George Thompson revealed that he was female after being sentenced to be flogged.

Male-to-female transgender soldiar, Robert Shirtliff, joines the American army on May 20th, 1782.

Male-to-female transgender soldiar, Robert Shirtliff, was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army’s Massachusetts Regiment At West Point on October 25th, 1793 after it was discovered that she was biologically male. Shirtliff had passed as a man for almost 1 1/2 years and formed attachments with several women.

Female-to-male crossdressing sailor, James Gray, is admitted to Bedlam Hospital in 1792 after showing symptoms of insanity. Gray dies shortly after at the age of 69. Gray was buried among the old soldiers at Chelsea Hospital as she had always wanted.

Female-to-Male cross-dresser, John Taylor (born Mary Anne Talbot) was enlisted as a foot-boy in 1792 and served as a drummer-boy in the battle for Valenciennes. Taylor later deserted and became a cabin-boy for a French ship. When the British captured the ship she was transferred to the HMS Brunswick in Portsmouth, England where he served as a powder monkey. In June 1794, Taylor was wounded for the second time when grapeshot almost severed his leg during the battle of the Glorious First against the French fleet. Taylor never recovered the full use of his leg but later rejoined the crew. He went ashore at St. Katharine’s Dock and, upon being approached by a press gang, revealed his true birth gender.

Female-to-Male cross-dresser, John Bowden (Born Elizabeth Bowden), enlists in the British Royal Navy in 1806 and serves aboard the HMS Hazard out of Plymouth. Within 6 weeks of his serving on the ship, his birth gender is discovered.

21-year old female-to-male cross-dresser, William Brown, enlisted in the British Royal Navy and joined the crew of the Queen Charlotte as a Landsman on May 23rd, 1815. Brown was discharged from the Royal Navy a month later when his true birth gender was discovered.

Joseph Lobdell (born in 1829 as Lucy Ann Lobdell), lived as a man for sixty years. After being discovered, Lobdell was arrested and incarcerated in an insane asylum.

In 1839, a group of male-to-female cross-dressers, known as "Rebecca and her daughters", begin to battle their way through the Welsh countryside, destroying road toll barriers which were making the poor even poorer.Rebecca and her daughters continue to do so untill 1844.

On June 19th, 1843, a group of male-to-female cross-dressers, known as "Rebecca and her daughters", send a threatening letter to a corrupt church leader, threatening the church leader to riot the church.

In 1860, Herculine Barbin is examined by her doctor, who discovers that the intersexed woman has a small penis, with testicles inside her body. Barbin is declared legally male against her wishes, becomes the subject of much scandal for having previously taught in a girl's school, moves to Paris but continues to live in poverty, and ultimately commits suicide in 1868.

During the American Civil War (1861–1865) at least 240 biological women are known to have worn men's clothing and fought as soldiers. Some of them were transgender and continued to live as men throughout their lives.

Sarah Emma Edmonds (born Edmonson or Edmondson) enlisted in the Michigan volunteer infantry company as Franklin Thompson in 1861. Edmonds successfully evading detection as a woman for a year. During her duty she participated in the Battle of Blackburn's Ford, First Bull Run / Manassas, the Peninsular Campaign, Antietam, and Fredericksburg. Sarah Edmonds sometimes served as a spy, "disguised" as a woman (Bridget O'Shea) or as a black man. After deserting, she worked as a nurse for the U.S. Christian Commission.

Jennie Irene Hodgers enlisted into the Union Army's 95th Illinois Infantry using the name Albert Cashier Cashier on August 6th, 1862. Cashier was assigned to Company G., where he was part of the Army of the Tennessee under Ulysses S. Grant and fought in approximately forty battles.

On March 1862, Civil War Confederate soldier Samuel Blalock was shot and wounded in the shoulder during battle. In the process of removing the bullet, the surgeon discovered that "Samuel" was actually a woman.

In 1865 Sarah Emma Edmonds, who served in the Union army disguised as Franklin Thompson, publishes her version of her service as a Nurse and Spy.In 1882 she began to petition for a pension as a veteran, and was granted one in 1884 under her new married name, Sarah E. Seelye.

Brittish Army surgeon, Dr. James Barry, dies in 1865, and is discovered to have female sexual characteristics. Barry had been passing as a male since at least 1809.

On April 28th, 1870, Two transvestites by the name of Stella (Ernest Boulton) & Fanny (Frederick Park) were arrest in London England and charged with having anal sex. They were both acquitted of the charges the following year, in 1871.

Eugene Schuyler visits Turkestan in 1872 and observes boys specially trained to take the place of the dancing-girls. "The Bacchá” are androgynous or cross-dressing Turkish underclass boys who were trained in erotic dance, and are also available as prostitutes. This tradition continues until around or shortly after WWI.

Dr. William Hammond delivers a paper to the American Neurological Association on June 23rd, 1882. The paper describes a “disease” which makes males believe themselves to be females. As an example he spoke of Native Americans who lived as the opposite sex.

In 1895 a group of self-described androgynes in New York organized a club called the Cercle Hermaphroditos, based on their wish "to unite for defense against the world’s bitter persecution".

Heir to the throne of England, Prince Albert Victor (also referred to as Prince Eddy) , frequently attends Transvestite clubs in 1885. The Prince’s sexuality has been under speculation throughout all of history.

The Labouchere Amendment was passed in England on August 7th, 1885. The amendment provided for a term of imprisonment not exceeding two years, with or without hard labor, for any male person guilty of an act of gross indecency with another male person in public or in private. The effect of this was that any and every form of male homosexual expression – including effeminate behavior in biological men and masculine behavior in biological women – that offended the feelings of a jury became criminal. This law was dubbed the “blackmailer’s charter” and cast a shadow of criminality over British homosexual & transgender life until its repeal 82 years later.

Zuni Native American from New Mexico, We'Wha (1849–1896), spent six months in Washington, DC in 1886, and met President Grover Cleveland. We'Wha was born male but lived as a woman. Upon meeting her, President Cleveland was never aware that the six-foot Zuni maiden was born male. We'Wha was an accomplished Zuni Weaver and potter. One of the anthropologists close to We’Wha described her as “the strongest character, and the most intelligent of the Zuni tribe.”

A 21-year old male-to-female transgender woman identified only as J.M. was admitted to the Insane Department of the Philadelphia Hospital on March 17th, 1886. Dr. Philip Leidy later wrote of the case as being an example of “sexual perversion” because J.M. claimed his name was Jane and he was a girl, and he spoke in an effeminate voice and liked to fondle men with “both his mouth and hands.”

Male impersonator, Annie Hindle, marries her dresser Anna Ryan in Grand Rapids Michigan on June 6th, 1886. In order to marry Ryan, Hindle dressed in full male clothing and used her male stage name of Charles Hindle. Gilbert Sarony, a female impersonator, was one of the witnesses.

Female-to-Male transgender man, Ray Leonard, arrives in Lebanon Oregon in 1889 as the son of a shoemaker and, with his father's help, lives as a man.

In 1896 during the Victorian period, cross-dressing is featured in various publications, and transvestites become affectionately known as “tight-lacers.” A tight-lacer is someone who practices daily tight lacing; which is the wearing of a corset for long periods in order to reduce the natural circumference of the waist. Some people choose tight lacing for aesthetic reasons, and Some do this to improve their figure by achieving an extra-narrow waist. This was important for male transvestites at the time who wanted to achieve a feminine figure.

The play “A Florida Enchantment” was reviewed in the New York Times on October 12th, 1896. In the play, characters swallowed a magic seed which transformed them into members of the opposite sex. The play was described as vile, stupid, and the worst play ever produced in New York.

After moving into a facility for elderly people in 1897, Female-to-male transgender man, Charley Wilson, was forced to wear female clothing once authorities discovered he was anatomically a female. Before then, Charley had lived as a man for 40 years.

The Scientific Humanitarian Committee was founded in Berlin by Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld on May 14th, 1897. The committee was formed to organize opposition to legal and social oppression of homosexuals and transgenders Germany. Hirschfeld coined the term “transvestite” and was reportedly a crossdresser.

It would be the first of several pre-Nazi queer liberation organizations in Berlin. Members of the Committee included Albert Einstein, Hermann Hesse, Thomas Mann, Rainer Maria Rilke and Leo Tolstoy. The Committee was instrumental in founding the Institute of Sexology (later destroyed by the Nazis) which pioneered SRS for both MTF & FTM transsexuals.

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The dawn of the 21st century had started out with two film makers, Mitchell and Kenyon, traveling to Crewe, England between 1900 and 1905 to film a cross-dressing Carnival.

Police raid a drag ball in Mexico City on November 20th, 1901. 42 people were arrested at the ball. One person was later released after police said she was discovered to be a cisgender woman. Rumors spread that the person who was released was not a woman, but a close relative of President Diaz in drag.

After being hospitalized for pneumonia in 1905, it was discovered that female-to-male transgender man, Frenchy “Grandpa” Vosbaugh, was anatomically a women.

The term “Transsexual” makes it’s first appearance in print in the 1907 edition of The Medial Times, Volume 35 No. 1, published in January of 1907.

The November 11th, 1907 edition of The Trinidad Advertiser featured a story about the death of Frenchy “Grandpa” Vosbaugh. Vosbaugh, who died earlier that year, had lived as a man for 60 years and married a woman, though he was anatomically a women.

Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld coins the term "transvestite" in 1910.

In 1913, Henry Havelock Ellis (of the Fabian Society) proposed the term sexo-aesthetic inversion to describe what would later be called transgender phenomenon. Henry Havelock Ellis was a British physician, psychologist, writer, and social reformer who studied human sexuality, as well as publishing works on transgender psychology. Ellis was a supporter of sexual liberation, with interests in human biology. His own personal experiences led him to write his six volume Studies in the Psychology of Sex. The books, published between 1897 and 1910 caused tremendous controversy and were banned for several years. Other books written by Ellis included “The New Spirit” (1890), “Man and Woman” (1894), and “Sexual Inversion” (1897).

The phrase "drag" first appeared alone in print in 1914. The term is thought to be a shortening of "dressed as girl," versus the alternately used "drab," from "dressed as boy."

Female-to-Male transgender man, Ralph Kerwinieo, was exposed as anatomically female in Milwaukee in 1914 by his second wife six months after their marriage. Kerwinieo had lived successfully as a man for thirteen years, including his first marriage.

During World War I from 1914 to 1918, Transvestites were being regularly charged as spies or cowards, and executed.

Female-to-Male transgender man, Ray Leonard, is discovered to be anatomically a woman after being treated for an illness in 1915.

The term “Trans-sexed” was first used in print when it appeared in the February 9th, 1915 edition of The Evening Record. The term was used in an article that told the story of Ben Rosenstein, a female-tomale transgender man.

American Civil war veteran & female-to-male crossdresser, Albert Cashier, dies on October 11th, 1915. Albert was buried in his Union soldier uniform.

The term “Ambisextrous” is coined on September 23rd, 1917 by critic Percy Hammond. Hammond used the term to describe female impersonator, Julian Eltinge.

Earl Lind (AKA Jennie June) publishes “Autobiography of an Androgyne” in 1918. Lind's memoirs provide rare first-person testimony about the early-20th-century life of a transgender person. Lind described himself as a "fairie" or "androgyne", an individual, he said, "with male genitals", but whose "psychical constitution" and sexual life "approach the female type".

Magnus Hirschfeld founds the Institute for Sexology in Berlin, Germany on July 1st, 1919. This would be the first clinic to serve transgendered people regularly and develop their study.

Although a few surgeons had already carried out some incomplete sex reassignment surgeries previously (primarily removing the existing sex organs, not creating new ones), 1920 also saw the first complete surgeries for Male-to-female transsexuals. These took place at Magnus Hirschfeld's Institute for Sexology by Drs. Ludwig Levy-Lenz and Felix Abraham.

In 1920, Henry Havelock Ellis coined the term “eonism”, just one of many terms for what would eventually be called transgender phenomenon. The term was derived from the name of a historical figure, Chevalier d'Eon.

In 1920, Johnathan Gilbert publishes the story of “H”, about Dr. Alan Hart’s 1917 Female-to-Male transition.

Female-to-Male transgender man, Ray Leonard, passes away in 1921 at the age of 76.

Earl Lind (AKA Jennie June) publishes his second book, “The Female Impersonators” in 1922. Much like his first book, “Autobiography of an Androgyne,”Lind's memoirs provide rare first-person testimony about the early-20th-century life of a transgender person. In 2010 five sections of his third volume of memoirs (dated 1921 but never published), previously lost, were discovered and published on OutHistory.org.

Recognizing some of the differences from transvestites, Magnus Hirschfeld is credited with introducing the term "transsexual" in 1923, even though the term had already been published in the 1907 edition of The Medial Times, Volume 35 No. 1, published in January of 1907.

The first transgender-themed play, Mae West's “The Drag”, debuts in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In 1927. “The Drag” moves on to New Jersey, but fails to make it to Broadway.

Virginia Woolf's novel “Orlando: A Biography” is published in 1928, chronicling the story of a man who decides not to grow old. He doesn't, but he awakes one day in the body of a young woman, and lives out a lifetime as her before waking as a man. The remaining centuries up to the time the book was written are seen through a woman's eyes.

Throughout the 1920's and 1930's, Carl Jung proposes the idea of Animus and Anima, that every male has some of the feminine in his unconscious (Anima), and every female has some of the masculine (Animus).

The “Encyclopeadia of Sexual Knowledge” is published in 1930 by Norman Haire. The book addresses transvestism in detail, as well as illustrating the First Sex-change procedures.

Marlene Dietrich moves from German Cabaret to American film with her debut in Morocco in 1930. As the 1930's progress, she becomes infamous for dressing in male attire, and gradually brings this penchant to fashion and film, ultimately making it acceptable for women to wear pants and other masculine forms of clothing. Reportedly, she was quite persistent on changing into male attire offstage as well. Rumors circulated of lesbian relationships, though she has never been fully established as identifying as male.

In 1930, Lili Elbe, born Einar Wegener, became the first publically-known recipient of an Sex Reassignment Surgery. This became a major public scandal in Germany and Denmark, and the King of Denmark invalidated her marriage that October. She was fully intent on being someday able to conceive a child, and this drove her surgeons to try far-reaching techniques, actually endured five surgeries in this process (the first was to remove the male genitals, the second to transplant ovaries, although she did have underdeveloped ones of her own. The third surgery was unspecified, the fourth was to remove the ovaries due to serious complications and the fifth being a "vaginaplasty"). Elbe dies in 1931, probably from complications from her final surgery, although rumors persisted that she had faked her death in order to live in peace.“Man Into Woman," The life story of Lili Elbe, is Published in 1932.

In 1931, Dr. Felix Abraham publishes Genital Reassignment of Two Male Transvestites, detailing those first male-to-female SRS surgeries in 1923.

The Cantonal Court in Nidwald, Switzerland grants a change of civic status from male to female for transgender woman Margrith Businger on October 19th, 1931.

Also in 1932, Female to Male Transsexual, Colonel Sir Victor Barker, Marries Elfrida Haward (originally born Valerie Barker in 1895). Barker always wished to have been born a boy, and in 1923 Valerie left her common-law husband and family. With a full set of new suits, shirts, collars and ties, Barker moved into the Grand Hotel in Brighton as Sir Victor Barker Bart, where he was joined the next day by his fiancee Elfrida Haward. Always living above his means, Sir Victor was indicted for bankruptcy, and discovered to be a woman while being imprisoned. Barker was found guilty of "knowingly and willfully causing a false statement to be entered into a register of marriage." After this, Barker was forced into lower and less well paid jobs. Changing his name, he took more and more menial work. In 1934 Colonel Sir Victor Barker served a sentence for petty theft while living as John Hill. Three times in his life he sold his story to the popular press for money, and even appeared as a circus attraction as The Man-Woman.

The Institute for Sexual Science is vandalized and looted by a mob of Nazi "students" on May 3rd, 1933.

On May 6th, 1933, the Institute for Sexual Science's archives of books, photographs, research documents and more are burned publically in Opera Square by Nazi's. The physicians and researchers involved with the clinic flee Germany, or in some cases commit suicide, unable to otherwise escape. Magnus Hirschfeld had moved to Paris by this time, and dies in exile in Nice, of a heart attack on his 67th birthday.

On November 13th, 1933, Top-level members of the Third Reich advise the Head of Police to deliver transvestites to concentration camp Fuhlsbuttel.

During World War II in 1935, the Nazis abused, murdered, and sterilized transgender men and women. Aversion Therapy, which was first used to eliminate homosexuality, was later used on transgender men and women as well.

The Pink Triangle is first used as a symbol to denote people of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered orientations in 1937. Prisoners in Nazi concentration camps are made to wear triangular patches identifying their status: green for criminals, yellow for Jews, red for Communists, blue for illegal emigres, purple for Jehovah's Witnesses, black for "antisocials," brown for gypsies, and pink for "homosexuals." In the hierarchy that developed, pink was near the bottom, and GLBT persons suffered extremely high death rates and were commonly used in medical experiments. In the 1970s, the Pink Triangle would become a symbol of defiance and solidarity in the GLBT community.

Henry Havelock Ellis, who coined the term “eonism,” dies in 1939. Following his death, his autobiography, “My Life,” was published posthumously in 1940.

New York police raid a masked drag ball and arrest 99 men on October 21st, 1939. The men are charged with masquerading as females.

The term "Transsexuality" was first used in 1941 in reference to homosexuality and bisexuality.

The phrase "drag queen" first appears in print in 1941, although it had been used as theater and gay culture slang as early as the 1870's, and "drag" appeared alone in print in 1914. The term is thought to be a shortening of "dressed as girl," versus the alternately used "drab," from "dressed as boy."

Dr. Harry Klinefelter first diagnoses Klinefelter's Syndrome in 1942, a condition caused by a chromosome nondisjunction in males; affected individuals have a pair of X sex chromosomes instead of just one, and are associated with additional risk for some medical conditions. Patients with Klinefelter's Syndrome can be (but are not always) characterized by effeminate appearance, sterility, some gynecomastia and occasional transgenderism.

In 1949, Michael Dillon (a young aristocrat) becomes the world's first female-to-male transsexual to complete sex-change operation procedures after a series of 13 pre-phalloplasty operations performed in London over a four-year period. The surgical procedures were conducted by Sir Harold Gillies, along with his colleague, Ralph Millard. Phalloplasty for Female-To-Male transsexuals would not be coherently developed until 1958. Gillies later performs surgery on the United Kingdom's first male-to-female transsexual, Roberta Cowell as well.

Michael Dillon

In 1948, Dr. Harry Benjamin is introduced by Alfred Kinsey to a boy who wants to become a girl, and whose mother seeks a treatment to assist, rather than thwart the child. In 1949, he begins treating transsexuals in San Francisco and New York with hormones. The Institute for Sexual Science had not previously done this; the treatment was entirely new.

During this period in the 1940's & 1950's, a notable American jazz musician and bandleader by the name of Billy Tipton (born in 1914 as Dorothy Lucille Tipton) was gaining much success. What no one knew at the time was that Tipton was born a woman. Since the 1940's, Tipton lived as a man in all aspects of his life. The truth of his birth gender would not be revealed until many years later, following his death.

The 1940's & 1950's saw some of the first transgender organizations and publications get off the ground, though law and medicine did not respond favorably to growing awareness of transgender people. One of the first major organizations to form during this period was the Organization for Sexual Equality in 1950, now the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights (RFSL).Louise Lawrence, a transgender person who began living full-time as a woman in San Francisco in the 1940s, developed a widespread correspondence network with transgender people throughout Europe and the United States by the 1950s. Lawrence worked closely with Alfred Kinsey to bring the needs of transgender people to the attention of social scientists and sex reformers.

Christine Jorgensen (born in 1926 as George William Jorgensen, Jr.) Undergoes male-to-female sex reassignment surgery in 1950. The procedure is conducted by Dr. Christian Hamburger in Copenhagen, Denmark.

On May 15th, 1951, Sir Harold Gillies performs the United Kingdom's first full surgical male-to-female sex change operation on Robert Cowell, who becomes Roberta Cowell.

Christine Jorgensen is "outed" to the American press, and becomes the subject of great controversy in 1952. Jorgensen became an instant celebrity and media sensation. She spent her remaining years educating people about transsexuals.

In 1952, using Louise Lawrence's correspondence network for its initial subscription list, Virginia Prince and a handful of other transgender people in Southern California launched Transvestia: The Journal of the American Society for Equality in Dress, which published two issues. The Society that launched the journal also only briefly existed in Southern California.

Ed Wood Jr.'s film, “Glen or Glenda” is released in 1953, purportedly inspired by Christine Jorgensen. The movie provides a surprisingly sincere attempt to understand transgenderism, despite its bizarre and schlocky B-movie trappings. Wood would later become rather famous in Hollywood circles as being a transvestite.

A Comic book with a trans theme called “Transformations” is published in America on July 7th, 1953.

Dr Harry Benjamin conducts a symposium on transsexuals for the New York Academy of Medicine on December 18th, 1953.

In 1955, Dr. John Money, a psychologist, writes the first of many papers in the Bulletin of the Johns Hopkins Hospital which will establish for him a reputation as a pioneer in the field of sexual development, and proposes the theory that gender identity develops primarily as a result of social learning from early childhood.

On June 29th, 1955, The Illinois General Assembly passes “An Act to add Section 13d to ‘An Act in relation to births, stillbirths and deaths, and to provide for the registration and the establishment of records thereof’, approved June 22, 1915, as amended.” The new Act provided that “Whenever the Department of Public Health receives an affidavit from a physician that he has performed an operation on a person whose birth is registered in this State, and that by reason of such operation the sex designation on such person’s birth certificate should be changed, the Director shall make such investigation as it may deem necessary. If satisfied that the original birth certificate is in error, it shall make a new certificate of birth in the same form as provided in Section 13 of this Act.

In 1957 American physician, Harry Benjamin, coined the term “cisgender”.

The first complete Phalloplasty for gender reassignment purposes is performed by Dr. Judy T. Wu in Bratsk, Russia in 1958. Previously, the procedure had only been devised for men who had experienced amputations, particularily during WWI, with some early attempts to develop FTM procedures in the decade preceeding. Phalloplasty would still not become very refined until the 1970s, when additional aspects such as a pump for creating erections would be devised for injured Vietnam veterans. Phalloplasty for female-to-male transsexuals is more complicated for someone not having the original infrastructure, as the organ and its function are not easy to replicate mechanically. Dr. Wu's procedure is developed from the 1949 process used on Michael Dillon.

Male-to-female transsexual performer, Jacqueline “Coccinelle” Dufresnoy, becomes the first Transsexual woman in France to undergo Sex Reassignment Surgery. The procedure was conducted by Dr. Burou in Casablanca in 1958.

Christine Jorgensen (male-to-female transsexual) is denied a marriage license in 1959 when she attempted to marry a man. her fiancee loses his job once his engagement to Jorgensen becomes public knowledge.

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Virginia (Charles) Prince resumes publishing Transvestia Magazine in 1960, that discussed transgender concerns. Prince also founds Los Angeles' Hose and Heels Club and another organization that develops into Tri-Ess ("The Society for the Second Self"). These organizations are thought to be the first modern transgender support groups, and the magazine is the first publication for and by transgender people.

Prince proceeds with a strong belief, however, in "heterosexual crossdressing" (i.e. crossdressers who are only attracted to women) and excludes "gay" or "bisexual" crossdressers from her groups, as well as transitioning transsexuals. Prince eventually goes on to live full-time as female, but Tri-Ess still does not allow full membership for gay men or MTF transsexuals to this day.

Also in 1960, Transgender man Sir Victor Barker (AKA John Hill) dies poor and forgotten as Geoffrey Norton. At his own request, he was buried in an unmarked grave.

José Sarria becomes the first transgender-identified person to run for public office in 1961. A legendary drag queen, Sarria received 5,600 votes when running for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Sarria (who still identified as male, at least at the time) proclaimed himself "Her Royal Majesty, Empress of San Francisco, Jose I, The Widow Norton," the latter being a reference to the 19th Century Joshua Norton, who had colorfully proclaimed himself Emperor of the United States.

Also during this time in the United Kingdom, holiday camps start holding events called “Topsy Turvy Nights,” despite hostility towards cross-dressing within mental health services in the United Kingdom. At these “Topsy Turvy Nights,” men and women are encouraged to dress in each others clothes at least once during their stay.

In 1962, Virginia Prince founded the Hose and Heels Club for cross-dressers, which soon changed its name to Phi Pi Epsilon, a name designed to evoke Greek-letter sororities and to play on the initials FPE, the acronym for Prince's philosophy of "Full Personality Expression". Prince believed that the binary gender system harmed both men and women by keeping them from their full human potential, and she considered cross-dressing to be one means of fixing this.

Police raid a drag ball in New York City on October 26th, 1962. Dozens were arrested on charges of indecent exposure.

On December 22nd, 1964, Dr. Harry Benjamin testifies at a meeting of the New York Health Department to urge that transsexuals should be allowed to have new birth certificates issued reflecting their gender preference. His recommendations were rejected.

The Imperial Court System was founded in the United States in 1965. The ICS was a non-profit charitable organization of mostly drag queens that raises funds and awareness for other charities and people in need.

On Sunday, April 25th, 1965, more than 150 transgender, gay & lesbian protestors staged a sit-in at the Dewey’s Coffee Shop located at 219 South 17th Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At the time, management of several Dewey’s around the city had made it clear that they would refuse service “to a large number of homosexuals and persons wearing non-conformist clothing.”

Police arrived on the scene and three of the protestors who refused to leave were arrested. Journalist and activist Clark Polak and the Janus Society, a local gay rights group, were notified. Over the next week, in support of the protestors, they distributed some 1,500 leaflets outside the restaurant. On Sunday, May 2nd, a second sit-in was staged. This time, when the police were called, they spoke with the protestors and simply left, declining to take any action at all. The management agreed to end the discrimination and the protestors left, having staged the first successful gay rights sit-in in the country. This marked an important step in the struggle for LGBT people to lay claim to the right to public space in 1960s Philadelphia.

In 1966, 1 year old David Reimer has his penis burned up to the base during a circumcision accident. After being taken to the John’s Hopkins Medical Center in Baltimore to see Dr. John Money, Money recommends that Reimer be raised as a girl. An orchidectomy was performed, and Reimer was raised as a girl named "Brenda." Though Dr. Money called the procedure a success, and claimed it as evidence that gender identity is primarily a learned academic, sexologist Milton Diamond later reported that Reimer failed to identify as female since the age of 9 to 11, and that he began living as male at age 15. Reimer later went public with his story to discourage similar medical practices. He later committed suicide, owing to suffering years of severe depression, financial instability and a troubled marriage.

In 1966, one of the first recorded transgender riots in US history took place. The Compton's Cafeteria Riot occurred in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. The night after the riot, more transgender people, hustlers, Tenderloin street people, and other members of the LGBT community joined in a picket of the cafeteria, which would not allow transgender people back in.

The demonstration ended with the newly installed plate-glass windows being smashed again. According to the online encyclopedia glbtq.com, "In the aftermath of the riot at Compton's, a network of transgender social, psychological, and medical support services was established, which culminated in 1968 with the creation of the National Transsexual Counseling Unit (NTCU), the first such peer-run support and advocacy organization in the world".

The Beaumont Society is founded in 1966. The Beaumont Society is a national self help body run by and for those who cross-dress or are transsexual.

In 1966 the first case to consider transsexualism in the US was heard, Mtr. of Anonymous v. Weiner. The case concerned a transsexual person from New York City who had undergone sex reassignment surgery and wanted a change of name and sex on their birth certificate. The New York City Health Department refused to grant the request, and the court ruled that the New York City and New Jersey Health Code only permitted a change of sex on the birth certificate if an error was made recording it at birth, so the Health Department acted correctly.

John's Hopkins Medical Center opens the first Gender Clinic, under John Money's guidance in 1966. Although Money's beliefs and writings cause severe damage with regards to intersex children and gender reassignment at birth, he also champions gender reassignment surgery (SRS) in adults, and the clinic becomes the mecca for gender transition. Much of the surgical work from this time would pioneer SRS techniques. Money's legacy would be a mixed blessing / curse to the transgender cause.

In 1966, Harry Benjamin publishes “The Transsexual Phenomenon.” Although he hadn't coined the word "transsexual," it became the term of choice following this publication.

Christine Jorgenson is referred to as a transsexual for the first time in newsprint in a November 22nd, 1966 article. It won’t be until 1973 for Jorgensen to be commonly referred to as a “transsexual” in newsprint.

In 1968, The International Olympic Committee (IOC) begins chromosome testing of female athletes, effectively banning transsexuals and some intersexed individuals (some of whom were fertile as female, with children) from competition, until 2002.

In 1968 a transgender person again sought a change of name and sex on their birth certificate in the case of Matter of Anonymous. The change of sex was denied, but the name change was granted.

On September 25th, 1968, the District Court of Hennepin County Minnesota grants a legal gender change of status to male-to-female transgender performer, Sandra Valdesuso. The court declares Valdesuso “mentally and physically was not adjusted to male status and was not a perfectly formed male person” and “is hereby declared to be a female person.”

Transgender people were heavily involved in the Stonewall Riots of 1969 at the Stonewall Inn in New York. These riots are widely considered to have begun the LGBT rights movement in America. Transgender activist Sylvia Rivera was among those involved.

Also in 1969, Universities begin opening clinics for treating transsexuals; the first surgeries are performed on non-intersexed transsexuals.

During the late 1960's in New York, Mario Martino founded the Labyrinth Foundation Counseling Service, which was the first transgender community-based organization that specifically addressed the needs of female-to-male transsexuals.

As the 1960's came to an end, the 1970's brought with it the formation of many support gropus and activist organizations for male cross-dressers and transgenders, with most beginning as offshoots of Virginia Prince's organizations from the early 1960's:

The Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), later renamed Street Transgender Action Revolutionaries, was founded in 1970 by two transgender women, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, to provide shelter and clothing. Rivera later said, “STAR was for the street gay people, the street homeless people, and anybody that needed help at that time...Later we had a chapter in New York, one in Chicago, one in California and England. It lasted for two or three years."

Transvestite activists Lee Brewster and Bunny Eisenhower founded the Queens Liberation Front in 1970, and Brewster began publishing the transgender women’s magazine “Queens.”

Angela Douglas founded the Transsexual/Transvestite Action Organization (TAO) in 1970, which published the Moonshadow and Mirage newsletters.

A Drag, Transsexual & Transgenderist acting troupe called “The Cockettes” premier their act in San Francisco in 1970.

Male-to-female transgender activist, Judy Bowen, forms “Transsexuals and Transvestites” (TAT) in New York on September 1st, 1970. The purpose of TAT was to help Transsexuals and Transvestites to better understand each other and the challenges they face.

Rev. Troy Perry, founder of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, was arrested for blocking the sidewalk following a demonstration in Los Angeles on June 28th, 1970. While in jail, a male-to-female pre-operative transsexual was brutally beaten after being placed in the same cell with male heterosexual prisoners. Perry arranged for her release and went on a hunger strike to convince authorities not to put transsexuals in cells with male heterosexuals.

Male to Female crossdresser, Ron Storme, started Porchester Hall drag balls in London in 1970, which led to consistent monthly and then bi-weekly balls that provided essential networking for crossdressers and transgenders.

Virginia Prince, of Tri-Ess, coins the word "transgender" in 1970, albeit with a limited definition to describe her transvestitism.

In 1970, one year after Arthur Corbett files for divorce from transsexual model, April Ashley, Lord Justice Ormrod (who was himself a medical man) created a medical test and definition to determine the legal status of April Ashley and, by extension, all transsexual people. As a result, Lord Justice Ormrod annulled the marriage, declaring Ashley legally still a man, despite having sex reassignment surgery. The case set a precedent that would leave United Kingdom post-op transsexual’s unable to marry until the passage of the Gender Recognition Act of 2004. The Corvett vs. Corbett case and decision would eventually be used in America against Christie Lee Littleton, J'Noel Gardiner, and Nikki Araguz, as well as Ms. W. in Hong Kong as a weapon against trans marriages.

A second Imperial Court System, a non-profit charitable organization of mostly drag queens that raises funds and awareness for other charities and people in need, materializes in Vancouver, Canada in 1971.

The “Androgynous Organization” set up a “transsexual help center” in 1971 that was sponsored by the Gay Liberation Front.

Male-to-female transgender activist, Judy Bowen, forms “Transsexuals Anonymous” in New York in 1971.

On February 14th, 1971, the Transvestite Information Service (TVIS) was founded by James Howell along with the support of the Reed Erickson Foundation. Erickson, a Female-to-Male transsexual, personally approved each new group his Foundation supported. This transsexual-backed organization was one of the first to do some practical research on behalf of the community. The TVIS conducted the first ever national and international survey of local cross-dressing ordinances.”

The word “Transsex” is added to the dictionary on November 19th, 1971

In 1972 Sweden becomes first country in the world to allow transsexuals to legally change their sex, and provides free hormone therapy.

Also in 1972, the Transsexual/Transvestite Action Organization (TAO) moved to Miami in 1972, where it came to include several Puerto Rican and Cuban members, and soon grew into the first international transgender community organization.

Dr. John Money (with Anke Ehrhardt) publishes “Man & Woman, Boy & Girl: Gender Identity from Conception to Maturity” in 1972. He would go on to publish several books asserting that gender is learned, and not genetically predetermined. This theory is seized upon by the feminist movement as evidence that women are socialized to be passive against their true natures, and this later becomes a wedge between lesbian feminists and transsexual women.

In 1973 Transgender lesbian, Beth Elliot, was ejected from the West Coast Women's Conference because she was a transgender woman, despite having served as vice-president of the San Francisco chapter of the lesbian organization Daughters of Bilitis and having edited the chapter's newsletter Sisters.

Transsexual folk singer and accomplished activist Beth Elliott, aka "Mustang Sally," becomes vice-president of the Daughters of Bilitis in 1973. Soon afterward, she is "outed" as a transsexual, and hounded out of the organization by transphobic lesbian seperatists. At the West Coast Lesbian Conference held in Los Angeles later that year, the controversy would continue as lesbians protest the fact that Elliott is scheduled to perform at the meeting. She would mostly abandon activism until 1983.

Prescriptions for Di-Ethyl Stilbestrol (DES) as a vitamin for pregnant women ceases in 1973 after being linked to possibly causing intersex conditions and transsexuality.

Australian Transgender showgirl-turned-actress Carlotta (known for her performances in the long-running 1963 Les Girls cabaret, in which she was a founding member) debuts in the soap opera, Number 96 playing Robyn Ross, a transgendered showgirl. Once it is revealed that both the character and the actress herself are transgender showgirls, she is quickly written out of the show due to viewer response. Carlotta later becomes the inspiration for the movie, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

The stage musical, The Rocky Horror Show debuts in London. Jim Sharman and Richard O'Brien would later translate it to film as The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which would become a true cult phenomenon. The theme, "don't dream it, be it" becomes a rallying cry for many transsexuals as well as many libertarians of all stripes.

In 1974 Jan Morris, one of Britain's top journalists, publishes “Conundrum,” a personal account of her transition. The book is now considered a classic.

Male-to-female Transgender actress, Candy Darling, dies at the age of 26 from pneumonia and cancer on March 21st, 1974.

Boston’s Gay Community News begins running a column by transgender woman Margo Schulter called “Transsexophobia: Old Arguments Against New people” on March 30th, 1974.

In 1975 Minneapolis became the first city in the United States to pass trans-inclusive civil rights protection legislation.

In 1975 Panama becomes the second country in the world to allow transsexuals who have gone through gender reassignment surgery to get their personal documents reflecting their new sex.

Here in the US, Certain legal cases continued to consider the issue of changing the gender marker on one's official documentation, but cases in this period also considered other issues of anti-transgender discrimination. In 1975 in the case of Darnell v. Lloyd, a Connecticut court found that substantial state interest must be demonstrated to justify refusing to grant a change in sex recorded on a birth certificate. However in 1977, in the case K. v. Health Division, the Oregon Supreme Court rejected an application for a change of name or sex on the birth certificate of a post-operative transsexual, on the grounds that there was no legislative authority for such a change to be made.

On May 8th, 1975, Republican Minnesota State Rep. Arne Carlson introduces a floor amendment to gay-only rights bill H.F. 536, seconded by Rep. James Ulland, also a Republican. The amendment would have added “transsexualism” to the categories that would be added to the Minnesota Human Rights Act by the bill and defined “transsexualism” as “having or projecting a self-image not associated with one’s biological maleness or femaleness.” The amendment loses on a voice vote, though an estimate was that 40 were for and 70 against. The Democratic leadership had, earlier in the session, refused to let transsexuals testify for inclusion at a Judiciary Committee hearing.

In 1976, the first case in the United States that found post-operative transsexuals could marry in their post-operative sex was decided. In the New Jersey case M.T. v. J.T., the court expressly considered the English Corbett v. Corbett decision that disallowed such a marriage, but rejected its reasoning.

Also in 1976, the New Jersey Supreme Court rejected the appeal of a transgender plaintiff, Paula Grossman, in a sex discrimination case involving termination from her teaching job after sex reassignment surgery.

Transgender tennis Ace, Reneé Richards, was “outed” in 1976 and barred from competition when she attempts to enter a women's’ tennis tournament.

The first part of the daily serial “Tales of the City” by Armistead Maupin is published in the May 24th, 1976 edition of the San Francisco Chronicle. Maupin’s “Tales of the City” featured a transsexual as a main character.

In 1977, male-to-female transsexual artists Sandy Stone is "outed" while working for Olivia Records, the first womens' music record label, as a recording engineer. Lesbian activists threaten a boycott of Olivia products and concerts, forcing the company to ask for Stone's resignation. Angela Douglas writes a satirical letter to Sister as a protest of the transphobia in the lesbian community in general, and the attacks on Sandy Stone in particular.

Transgender tennis Ace, Reneé Richards, was granted entry to the U.S. Open after a ruling in her favor by the New York Supreme Court on April 16th, 1977. This was considered a landmark decision in favor of transgender rights, establishing that transsexuals are legally accepted in their new identity after reassignment in the United States.

In 1979, lesbian feminist scholar & writer Dr. Janice G. Raymond wrote the anti-transsexual book “The Transsexual Empire: The Making of the She-Male,” in which she characterized female-to-male transsexuals as traitors to their sex and to the cause of feminism, and male-to-female transsexuals as rapists engaged in an unwanted penetration of women's space.

In the book, Raymond mounted an ad hominem attack on male-to-female transsexual artist Sandy Stone. Raymond accused Stone by name of plotting to destroy the Olivia Records collective and womanhood in general with "male energy." In 1976, prior to publication, Raymond had sent a draft of the chapter attacking Stone to the Olivia collective "for comment", apparently in anticipation of outing Stone. Raymond appeared unaware that Stone had informed the collective of her transgender status before agreeing to join. The collective did return comments to Raymond, suggesting that her description of transgender and of Stone's place in and effect on the collective was at odds with the reality of the collective's interaction with Stone. Raymond responded by increasing the virulence of her attack on Stone in the published version of the manuscript:

“Masculine behavior is notably obtrusive. It is significant that transsexually constructed lesbian feminists have inserted themselves into positions of importance and/or performance in the feminist community. Sandy Stone, the transsexual engineer with Olivia Records, an "all-women" recording company, illustrates this well. Stone is not only crucial to the Olivia enterprise but plays a very dominant role there. The...visibility he achieved in the aftermath of the Olivia controversy...only serves to enhance his previously dominant role and to divide women, as men frequently do, when they make their presence necessary and vital to women. As one woman wrote: "I feel raped when Olivia passes off Sandy...as a real woman. After all his male privilege, is he going to cash in on lesbian feminist culture too?"

The collective responded in turn by publicly defending Stone in various feminist publications of the time. Stone continued as a member of the collective and continued to record Olivia artists until political dissension over her transgendered status, exacerbated by Raymond's book, culminated in 1979 in the threat of a boycott of Olivia products. After long debate, Stone left the collective and returned to Santa Cruz.

In 1979, Johns Hopkins Medical Center closes its Gender Clinic, under the recommendation of new curator, Paul McHugh, John Money's successor and an opponent to both Money's idea of gender as being learned, and Money's support of transsexuals' need to transition. Over the next two decades, many of the other Gender Clinics across North America would follow suit. The closure was justified by pointing to a 1979 report ("Sex Reassignment: Follow-up," published in Archives of General Psychiatry 36, no. 9) by Jon Meyer and Donna Reter that claimed to show "no objective improvement" following male-to-female GRS surgery. This report was later widely questioned and eventually found to be contrived and possibly fraudulent, but the damage had been done.A series of programs entitled “A Change of Sex” are aired on the BBC in 1979. Viewers could for the first time follow pre-op transsexual, Julia Grant, through her transition.

Another significant event for activism occurred in 1979, with the first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights held in Washington, D.C. on October 14th. It drew between 75,000 and 125,000 transgender, lesbian, bisexual, and gay people, as well as straight allies. The cause was to demand equal civil rights and urge the passage of protective civil rights legislation. The march was organized by Phyllis Frye (who in 2010 became Texas’s first openly transgender judge) and three other activists, but no transgender people spoke at the main rally.

Following the decade of excess known as the 1980's, the 1990's would prove to be a turning point for many world issues and cultures, both for the better and worse. The transgender community would be no different, with both accomplishments and tragedies.

The Human Rights Campaign Fund is founded by Steve Endean in 1980. The campaign is America’s largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality.

Also in 1980, transgender people were officially classified by the American Psychiatric Association as having "gender identity disorder."

In 1981, educator and activist Mary Ann Horton (a transgender woman) becomes a Usenet and Internet pioneer by authoring the oldest internet post to ever be archived by Google Groups.

Brittish transgender model, Caroline "Tula" Cossey, was cast as a Bond girl in the 1981 James Bond movie, For Your Eyes Only.

The first trans internet community is formed when “GenderNet” goes “on the air” on January 1st, 1984 at 6 p.m. (PST). “GenderNet” is the first electronic communications network solely for the transvestite, transgender, transsexual, spouse, provider and business support professional.

Thirteen days after "GenderNet" goes live, January 14th, 1984, 207 calls are recorded on the network.

Brittish transgender model, Caroline "Tula" Cossey, was featured in the 1985 music video, "Some Like it Hot", by Power Station.

Also in 1986, transgender activist Lou Sullivan founded the support group that grew into FTM International, the leading advocacy group for female-to-male transgender individuals, and began publishing The FTM Newsletter.

Cross-dressing actor & singer, Divine, dies of a heart attack at age 42 on March 7th, 1988.

Celebrated jazz musician & band leader from the 1940's & 1950's, Billy Tipton, died in Spokane, Washington on January 21st, 1989. Upon his death, it was revealed that he was a woman. Tipton, lived for 56 years as a man, marrying several times and raising children.Until his death, his own son did not even know of Tipton's past. The first newspaper article about Tipton was published the day after his funeral and was quickly picked up by wire services. Stories about Tipton appeared in a variety of papers including tabloids such as the National Enquirer and The Star, as well as more reputable papers such as New York Magazine and The Seattle Times. Tipton's family also made talk show appearances.

Male-to-female transsexual, Christine Jorgenson, passes away on May 3rd, 1989 at the age of 62.

The United States Postal Service issues a Stonewall postage stamp on June 24th, 1989 to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riots.

Other key moments in the 1970s and 1980s concerned the inclusion of trans women within the feminist community, an issue that continues to the present day, and the classification of transgender people as a group. The term “Transgender”, as an umbrella term to refer to all gender non-conforming people, began to be used more commonly during this time.

A United States Army colonel was discharged and sentenced to 90 days in Leavenworth on October 26th, 1990 for appearing in drag at an AIDS benefit and kissing another man.

Female-to-male transgender activist and founder of FTM International, Louis Sullivan, dies of complications from AIDS at age 39 on March 2nd, 1991.

In 1991 a transgender woman named Nancy Burkholder was removed from the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival when security guards realized she was transgender. Every year since then, there has been a demonstration against the Festival's women-born-women only policy. This demonstration is known as Camp Trans.

Also in 1991, Female-to-male Transgender activist, Jamison "James" Green, took over Lou Sullivan's Female to male newsletter. Renamed Female-to-male International, Inc., it becomes the world's largest information and networking group for female-to-male transgender people and transsexual men.

1991 was also the year of the first Southern Comfort Conference. The Southern Comfort Conference is a major transgender conference that takes place annually in Atlanta, Georgia. It is the largest, most famous, and pre-eminent such conference in the United States.

Althea Garrison was elected as the first known transgender state legislator in 1992, and served one term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. however, it was not publicly known she was transgender when she was elected.

Transgender Nation, an offshoot of Queer Nation's San Francisco chapter, was formed in 1992, and lasted until 1994. Transsexual Menace was a similar group that was founded in 1994 by Riki Wilchins.

The 1st International Conference on Transgender Law and Employment Policy was held on August 26th, 1992. The Conference was for “attorneys and other legal professionals; for employment, personnel, and other human resources professionals; and for members of the transgender community… Transgendered persons include transsexuals, transgenderists, and other crossdressers of both sexes, transitioning in either direction (male to female or female to male), of any sexual orientation, and of all races, creeds, religions, ages, and degrees of physical impediment.”

Female-to-male transgender youth, Brandon Teena, was raped and murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska on December 31st, 1992. This hate crime brought widespread attention to transgender discrimination and violence, and became the subject of the award-winning film, “Boys Don't Cry.”

Cheryl Chase founded the Inter-sex Society of North America (ISNA) in 1993 to help build awareness and offer support to inter-sex people.

British transgender woman, Julia Grant, publishes her book, "Just Julia" in 1994. The book Chronicles Julia's process through her transformation.

In 1995, Intersex activist and founder of the Intersex Society of North America, Cheryl Chase, creates “Hermaphrodites Speak!”, a 30 minute documentary film in which several intersex people discuss the psychological impact of their conditions and the medical treatment and parenting they received.

Trans activist, Leslie Feinberg, publishes “Transgender Warriors: Making History from Joan of Arc to Dennis Rodman” in 1997. The book is a virtual who's who of transgender people throughout world history, and traces the roots of transgender oppression.

A 1997 trial court in Orange County, Calif.ornia affirmed the validity of a marriage involving a transgender man. The case arose when the wife sought to invalidate the marriage in order to deprive her husband of his parental rights vis-a-vis the couple's child, who was born through alternative insemination. The trial court rejected the wife's argument that the transgender husband should be considered legally female and refused to nullify the marriage. The court held that California law recognizes the post-operative sex of a transsexual person for all legal purposes, including marriage. Notably, however, if the court had ruled differently, or if the transgender spouse had not undergone extensive and expensive sex reassignments surgeries prior to the marriage, it is likely that he would have lost any right to maintain a relationship with his child.

Israeli transsexual pop singer, Dana International, wins the 1998 Eurovision Song Contest for her song "Diva".

In 1998, Intersex activist and founder of the Intersex Society of North America, Cheryl Chase, wrote an amicus brief for the Colombian constitutional court, which was then considering a ruling on surgery for a six-year-old boy with a micropenis.

Transgendered African American woman, Rita Hester, was murdered in Allston, Massachusetts on November 28th, 1998. In response to her murder, an outpouring of community grief and anger led to a candlelight vigil held the following Friday, December 4th, in which about 250 people participated. This vigil inspired the "Remembering Our Dead" web project. Hester's death and subsequent vigil that followed also inspired Gwendolyn Ann Smith, an American transgender activist, to start the annual "Transgender Day of Remembrance" that same year. Smith initially started the “Transgender Day of Remembrance” in order to memorialize Hester's death, though the event became an annual occasion held every year on November 20th, and now memorializes all those murdered due to transphobic hate and prejudice.

Also in 1998, gender identity was added to the mission of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) after a vote at their annual meeting in San Francisco. PFLAG was the first national LGBT organization to officially adopt a transgender-inclusion policy for its work.

In entertainment, Julie Hesmondhalgh Joined the cast of “Coronation St.” (Britain's longest running television soap) in 1998, portraying a transsexual character named Hayley Patterson. The character was the first ever transsexual portrayed on a British serial. Transsexual singer, Dana International, also became the first transsexual woman to win the Eurovision Song Contest in 1999, singing a song called “Diva.”

In 1999 computer scientist Lynn Conway (noted for the Mead & Conway revolution in VLSI design and the invention of generalized dynamic instruction handling), came out as transgender. Her transition was more widely reported in 2000 in profiles in Scientific American and the Los Angeles Times, and she founded a well-known website providing emotional and medical resources and advice to transgender people. Parts of the website have been translated into most of the world's major languages.

News stories from the San Francisco Chronicle and Associated Press cite a 1999 study by the San Francisco Department of Public Health finding a 70% unemployment rate amongst the city's transgender population.

On February 18th, 1999, the San Francisco Department of Public Health issued the results of a 1997 survey of 392 male-to-female and 123 female-to-male transgender people, which found that 40% of those male-to-female transgender people surveyed had earned money from full or part-time employment over the preceding six months. For female-to-male's, the equivalent statistic was 81%. The survey also found that 46% of male-to-female's and 57% of female-to-male's reported employment discrimination.

The National Transgender Advocacy Coalition was founded in 1999 by a group of experienced transgender lobbyists, who discovered after lobbying Congress in May 1999 that other organizations ostensibly supportive of rights for transgender people had been lobbying against the interests of the transgender community.

MtoF Transgender profesional golfer, Mianne Bagger, won her first South-Australian championship in 1999. Controversy would follow her career due to fans accusing her of having an advantage over other female competitors due to her being born a man.

Brain material provided by the Netherlands Brain Bank in 1999 demonstrates transsexualism is a medical condition, not a “state-of-mind.”

In the 1999 Littleton vs. Prang case (Texas, USA), Christine Littleton, a post-op Male-to-female transsexual, loses her negligence case against the doctor who allowed her husband to die. Defense lawyers argue that she was never married to her late husband since her Texas birth certificate, though now amended to read female, originally read male.

FtoM transgendered man and German pole vaulter, Balian Buschbaum, takes 1st place in the European Junior Championships in 1999.

Transgender woman & U.S. Navy vet, Monica Helms, designs her version of the "Transgender Pride Flag" on August 19th, 1999. Helm's flag will eventually go on to become the most recognized and widely accepted "Transgender Pride Flag" of all.

MtoF transsexual woman, Georgina Beyer, became MP for the Labour Party in New Zealand on November 27th, 1999. Beyer was the world's first openly transsexual mayor, as well as the world's first openly transsexual Member of Parliament. Beyer served until February 14th, 2007.

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The Intersex Society of North America is honored with the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission's 2000 Felipa de Souza Human Rights Award.

In 2000, the southern U.S. grocery chain, Winn-Dixie, fired a longtime employee, Peter Oiler, despite a history of repeatedly earning raises and promotions, after management learned that the married, heterosexual truck driver occasionally cross-dressed off the job. Management argued that this hurt Winn-Dixie's corporate image. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Winn-Dixie on behalf of Oiler but a judge dismissed it.

Monica Helms’ newly designed Transgender Pride Flag made its public debut when Helms flew it in the 2000 Phoenix Pride Parade.

female to male Transgender and a German pole vaulter, Balian Buschbaum, competes in the 2000 Olympics where he placed 6th.

The Sylvia Rivera Law Project in New York was founded in 2002, and the Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays established its Transgender Network, also known as TNET, as its first official "Special Affiliate," recognized with the same privileges and responsibilities as its regular chapters.

The United Kingdom Sex Discrimination Act was amended in 2002 to include protections on the basis of Gender Reassignment. In a judgment delivered at Strasbourg on July 11th in the case of Christine Goodwin v. the United Kingdom, the European Court of Human Rights held unanimously that there had been a violation of Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) and Article 12 (right to marry and to found a family) of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court held, unanimously, that the finding of violation constituted in itself sufficient just satisfaction for the non-pecuniary damage sustained by the applicant and awarded the applicant 39,000 euros for costs and expenses. This led the way for the later Gender Recognition Act to become UK law.

Transgender woman, Jennifer Pellinen, introduces her design of a “Transgender Pride Flag” on July 20th, 2002.

2002 also had it’s share of tragedy in the transgender community as well. Gwen Amber Rose, a 17 year old Transgender girl, was beaten and strangled in October. Her death received world-wide outrage, news attention, and would eventually lead to a “made-for-tv” movie about her life & murder.

The National Center for Transgender Equality and the Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) was founded in 2003.

In 2003 Theresa Sparks became the first transgender woman ever named "Woman of the Year" by the California State Assembly.

The Conservative Judaism's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards approved a rabbinic ruling on the status of transsexuals in 2003. The ruling concluded that individuals who have undergone full sexual reassignment surgery, and whose sexual reassignment has been recognized by civil authorities, are considered to have changed their sex status according to Jewish law. Furthermore, it concluded that sexual reassignment surgery is an acceptable treatment under Jewish law for individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

MtoF transgender woman, Aya Kamikawa, becomes the first ever transsexual person to seek elected office in Japan. She is elected as a Municipal Official for Tokyo in April of 2003. Kamikawa placed sixth out of 72 candidates running for 52 seats in the Setagaya municipal assembly.

On December 7th, 2003, 43 year old British transvestite, Potter Grayson Perry, won the controversial Turner prize, and collected £20,000 at a ceremony at Tate Britain in London, dressed as his female self, Claire.

In the 2004 case Smith v. City of Salem, Smith, a female transsexual, filed Title VII claims of sex discrimination and retaliation, equal protection and due process claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and state law claims of invasion of privacy and civil conspiracy. On appeal, the Price Waterhouse precedent was applied: "it follows that employers who discriminate against men because they do wear dresses and makeup, or otherwise act femininely, are also engaging in sex discrimination, because the discrimination would not occur but for the victim’s sex". This was considered a significant victory for transgender people, as the case reiterated that discrimination based on both sex and gender expression is forbidden under Title VII, opening the door for more expansive jurisprudence on transgender issues in the future. This case did not, however, eliminate workplace dress codes, which frequently have separate rules based solely on gender.

The United Kingdom Gender Recognition Act becomes law on the February 10th, 2004. The new law granted transgender men and women full legal recognition of their change of gender status.

In 2004, Cheryl Chase and the Intersex Society of North America persuaded the San Francisco Human Rights Commission to hold hearings on medical procedures for intersex infants.

Also in 2004, The International Olympic Committee decided that transsexuals would be allowed to compete at the Athens Olympics if they have had appropriate surgery and were legally recognized as members of their new gender.

In entertainment, the first all-transgender performance of the "Vagina Monologues" was held in 2004. The monologues were read by eighteen notable transgender women including transsexual activist & author, Christine Beatty. A new monologue revolving around the experiences and struggles of transgender women was included as well.Click here for photo gallery

The first "San Francisco Trans March" took place the last weekend of June, 2004.

On television, 27 year old Portuguese post-operative transsexual, Nadia Almada, won the United Kingdom reality Game show, Big Brother 5 on August 6th 2004. Almada won £63,500 in prize money, as well as the hearts of the entire nation.

In 2005 transgender activist, Pauline Park, became the first openly transgender person chosen to be grand marshal of the New York City Pride March, the oldest and largest LGBT pride event in the United States.

Transgender singer, Anthony Hegerty of Anthony and the Johnsons, won the Mercury Music Prize on September 6th, 2005.

After a retrial for the 2002 beating and death of 17 year old Transgender girl, Gwen Amber Rose, the Jury Found two of the Defendants (Michael Magidson and Jose Merel) Guilty Of Second Degree Murder in 2005.

Dr. Stephen Whittle received an OBE in 2005 for his work on gender issues.

The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association is renamed in 2005 to The World professional Association for Transgender Health.

The three men that were found guilty of the 2002 beating and strangling of 17 year old Transgender girl, Gwen Amber Rose, were finally sentenced on January 27th, 2006.

Transsexual performer, Jacqueline “Coccinelle” Dufresnoy, dies at age 75 on October 9th, 2006. Dufresnoy was the star of the famous Le Carrousel nightclub in Paris in the 1950s, the same time that April Ashley and Amanda Lear were also there. Dufresnoy was hailed as the first Transsexual woman in France to undergo Sex Reassignment Surgery with Dr Burou in Casablanca in 1958.

Transgender woman, Kim Coco Iwamoto, was elected to the Hawaii Board of Education in November of 2006, making her at that time the highest ranking transgender elected official in the United States and the first transgender official to win statewide office.

The International Transgender Historical Society and the ITHS Transgender Hall of Fame are both founded by Nationaly Syndicated Transgender & Transsexual Issues Columnist, Tammy Reed, in 2007. The ITHS inducts 11 nominees into the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2007.

Transgender woman, Theresa Sparks, was elected president of the San Francisco Police Commission in 2007 by a single vote, making her the first transgender person ever to be elected president of any San Francisco commission, as well as San Francisco's highest ranking transgender official.

From 2007 to 2008, transgender actress Candis Cayne played Carmelita Rainer, a transgender woman, on the ABC prime time drama Dirty Sexy Money. The role made Cayne the first openly transgender actress to play a recurring transgender character on prime time.

Transgender actress, producer and transgender advocate, Laverne Cox, makes television history when she becomes the first African American transgender woman to appear on a reality television program, VH1’s “I Wanna Work for Diddy” in 2008.

In 2008, Cristan Williams donated her personal collection to the Transgender Foundation of America, becoming the first collection in the Transgender Archive.

Diego Sanchez became the first transgender person on the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) Platform Committee in 2008.

In 2008 the first ever U.S. Congressional hearing on discrimination against transgender people in the workplace was held by the House Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions.

The International Transgender Historical Society inducts 7 nominees into the Transgender Hall of Fame’s Class of 2008.

Thomas Beatie, an American transgender man, made international news in 2008 when he became pregnant. He wrote an article about his experience of pregnancy in The Advocate. The Washington Post blogger Emil Steiner called Beatie the first "legally" pregnant man on record, in reference to certain states' and federal legal recognition of Beatie as a man. On June 29th, 2008, Beatie gave birth to a girl named Susan Juliette Beatie.

The 2008 Sparkle TG Awards are held in Manchester, England in July 2008 at the annual Sparkle event weekend.

Angie Zapata, a transgender woman, was murdered in Greeley, Colorado on July 17th, 2008. Allen Andrade was convicted of first-degree murder and committing a bias-motivated crime since he killed her after he learned that she was transgender. This case was the first in the nation to get a conviction for a hate crime involving a transgender victim.

Silverton, Oregon elected Stu Rasmussen as the first openly transgender mayor in America in November 2008.

Dr. Rebecca Allison was elected Chair of the American Medical Association Advisory Committee on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues in 2008. Allison is known for her work advocating on behalf of Transgender people.

MtoF transgender pro golfer, Lena Lawless, won the women’s world championship in long-drive golf in 2008. Following her win, Lawless is excluded from competing in future competitions after the Ladies Professional Golf Association adopted their “female at birth” policy. Lawless would later go on to file a lawsuit against the LPGA on the grounds that its guidelines violated civil rights.

In 2008 the District Court of DC ruled in favor of Diane Schroer, who was denied a position as a terrorism research analyst at the Library of Congress after revealing that she would be transitioning from male to female. The Court agreed that Shroer's case fell under sex discrimination regulations.

In 2009 the Committee on Lesbian and Gay History, an affiliated society of the American Historical Association, changed its name to the Committee on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History.

Chaz Bono came out as transgender in 2009. GLAAD and the Empowering Spirits Foundation were quick to offer praise and support for the announcement.

Diego Sanchez became the first openly transgender person to work on Capitol Hill in 2009, as a legislative assistant for Barney Frank. Sanchez was also the first transgender person on the Democratic National Committee's (DNC) Platform Committee in 2008.

Transgender actress, producer and transgender advocate, Laverne Cox, accepts the GLAAD media award for Outstanding Reality Program for “I Wanna Work for Diddy” in 2009.

In 2009, Barbra “Babs” Siperstein was nominated and confirmed as the first openly transgender at-large member of the DNC.

Well known actor, comic and cross-dresser, Eddie Izzard, completes 43 marathons in seven weeks in 2009. The marathons were part of a grueling charity run for Sport Relief.

The International Transgender Historical Society inducts 8 nominees into the ITHS Transgender Hall of Fame’s Class of 2009

Transgender Activist Rachel Crandall creates the International Transgender Day of Visibility holiday on March 31st, 2009. The International Transgender Day of Visibility is an annual holiday occurring every March 31st, dedicated to celebrating transgender people and raising awareness of discrimination faced by transgender people worldwide.

The story of m-to-f transgender Angie Zapata's 2008 murder was featured on Univision's "Aqui y Ahora" television show on November 1st, 2009.

The “Transgender Day of Remembrance Memorial Plaque” was erected in West Hollywood, California on November 20th, 2009 during a commemoration of The Transgender Day of Remembrance at the Matthew Shephard Memorial Triangle in the Creative City.

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In 2010, Victoria Kolakowski became the first openly transgender judge in America.

Phyllis Frye becomes Texas’s first openly transgender judge in 2010.

Transgender woman, Jenna Talackova, competes in the 2010 Miss International Queen pageant for transgender and transsexual women in Thailand.

United Kingdom Cage Fighter and cross-dresser, Alex Reid, wins the United Kingdom reality Game show, Celebrity Big Brother in 2010.

The International Transgender Historical Society inducts 11 nominees into the ITHS Transgender Hall of Fame’s Class of 2010.

Guinness World Records recognized transgender man, Thomas Beatie, as the world's "First Married Man to Give Birth" in 2010.

In 2010, Australia becomes the first country in the world to recognize a non-specified gender when the New South Wales Government recognizes Norrie May-Welby as being neither male or female.

In 2010, Australia ends their ban on transgender people in the military.

In 2010 the State Department amended its policy to allow permanent gender marker changes on passports where a physician states that "the applicant has had appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition to the new gender". The previous policy required a statement from a surgeon that gender reassignment surgery was completed.

Amanda Simpson became the first openly transgender presidential appointee in America when she was appointed as senior technical adviser in the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security in 2010.

Transgender athlete Kye Allums became the first openly transgender athlete to play in NCAA basketball in 2010. Kye played on George Washington University's women's team.

Transgender politician, Kim Coco Iwamoto, is reelected to the Hawaii Board of Education in 2010 with 25% more votes than she received in 2006. Iwamoto publicly opposed passage of California's Proposition 8, outlawing same-sex marriages in California.

Chaz Bono’s “legal” transition was completed on May 8th, 2010, when a California court granted his request for a gender and name change.

The Bay Area Transgender Society (BATS) is founded on June 26th, 2010 in Tampa Florida by ITHS founder, Tammy Reed. That same day, BATS holds their first "Girls Night Out" social event at the Flamingo Resort in St. Petersburg, Florida during the city's gay pride day.

In 2011, Transgender actress, producer and transgender advocate, Laverne Cox, becomes the first African American transgender woman to produce and star in her own television show, VH1’s critically acclaimed “TRANSForm Me.” Later in the year, “TRANSform Me” is nominated for a GLAAD media award for Outstanding Reality Program. The show is the first television show to star three transsexual women.

Vandy Beth Glenn, a transgender woman, won a lawsuit against then-Legislative Counsel Sewell Brumby in 2011. Brumby fired Glenn in 2007 for deciding to transition genders on the job, and a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court’s ruling that Brumby had wrongly fired Glenn.

In 2011 the Social Security Administration (SSA) ended the practice of allowing gender to be matched in its Social Security Number Verification System (SSNVS). Therefore, the Social Security Administration no longer sends notifications that alert employers when the gender marker on an employee's W-2 does not match Social Security records, a practice that "outed" some transgender Americans in the past.

California’s FAIR Education Act (Senate Bill 48) became law in 2011, requiring the inclusion of political, economic, and social contributions of transgender people (along with lesbian, gay, and bisexual people and people with disabilities) in California's textbooks and public school social studies curricula.

In 2011, after the initial rejection of Bobby Montoya, a transgender girl, from the Girl Scouts of Colorado, the Girl Scouts of Colorado announced that "Girl Scouts is an inclusive organization and we accept all girls in Kindergarten through 12th grade as members. If a child identifies as a girl and the child’s family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout."

In 2011, the Veterans Health Administration issued a directive stipulating that all transgender and intersex veterans are entitled to the same level of care "without discrimination" as other veterans, consistent across all Veterans Administration healthcare facilities.

Harmony Santana became the first openly transgender actress to receive a major acting award nomination; she was nominated by the Independent Spirit Awards as "Best Supporting Actress" for the movie "Gun Hill Road" in 2011.

The International Transgender Historical Society inducts 8 nominees into the ITHS Transgender Hall of Fame’s Class of 2011.

Also in 2011, the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance changed its policy to include transgender and bisexual players.

A 2011 national discrimination survey revealed that 32% of black transgender men and women have lost a job due to trangender discrimination, 34% of black transgender men and women live in extreme poverty, reporting a household income of less than $10,000 a year, and 50% of black transgender men and women admit to having to sell drugs or perform sex work in order to earn money to survive.

In 2011, the Center of Excellence for Transgender Health published the first-ever protocols for transgender primary care.

The 3rd Annual Tranny Awards were held in North Hollywood in February 2011 and hosted by transgender adult model Michelle Austin. Notable winners included Bailey Jay, Angelina Valentine, and Joanna Jet. Sponsors for the 3rd annual Tranny Awards included Shemale Strokers, SMC, and Tranny News Daily.

Chaz Bono became a highly visible transgender celebrity when he appeared on the 13th season of the US version of Dancing with the Stars in 2011. This was the first time an openly transgender man starred on a major network television show for something unrelated to being transgender. That same year, Bono “Becoming Chaz”, a documentary about his gender transition that premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. OWN (the Oprah Winfrey Network) acquired the rights to the documentary and debuted it on May 10th, 2011.

Tammy Reed, founder of the International Transgender Historical Society, begins writing her nationally syndicated "Transgender & Transsexual Issues" column for the Examiner.com news website on May 24th, 2011. Her column eventually becomes one of the most read national columns for the Examiner.

T-Girl Publishing is founded in Tampa, Florida on May 24th, 2011 by ITHS president & Transgender Issues Columnist, Tammy Reed.

The Bay Area Transgender Society holds their 2nd "Girls Night Out" social gathering at the Flamingo Resort in St. Petersburg, Florida on July 1st, 2011.

The Bay Area Transgender Society holds their 3rd "Girls Night Out" social gathering at the Flamingo Resort in St. Petersburg, Florida on August 13th, 2011. The event is hosted by Transgender Issues Columnist, Tammy Reed.

The Discovery Channel airs the documentary/reality show, "I’m Pregnant And...My Husband Wants to Become a Woman", on September 1st, 2011.

The Bay Area Transgender Society holds their 4th "Girls Night Out" social gathering at Gorgie's Alibi in St. Petersburg, Florida on December 29th, 2011.The event is hosted by Transgender Issues Columnist, Tammy Reed.

Transgender actress, producer and transgender advocate, Laverne Cox, garneres critical acclaim in 2012 for her role in the independent feature film “Musical Chairs”, directed by Susan Seidelman.

The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Secretary, Shaun Donovan, announced new regulations that would require all housing providers that receive HUD funding to prevent housing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. These regulations went into effect on March 5th, 2012.

In 2012 Campus Pride, founded in 2001, issued its first list of the most welcoming places for trans students to go to college.

Director Lana Wachowski, formerly known as Larry Wachowski, came out as transgender in 2012. That same year, S`tephen Ira, the child of Warren Beatty and Annette Bening, also came out as an openly gay transgendered man.

To help spread transgender & transsexual awareness around the world, United Kingdom Transgender singer, Chrisie Edkins, embarked on a world tour in 2012, performing at LGBT Pride events for free.

The 2012 Miss Universe Canada competition was accused of discrimination after disqualifying a transgender contestant, Jenna Talackova (Jana Talacková), for not being a "naturally born female". A spokesperson from Miss Universe Canada released a statement saying she was disqualified because on her entry form she stated she was born a female, which was not the case. Upon being allowed back into the pagent, Talackove made it into the top 12 finalists.

In 2012, Kylar Broadus, founder of the Trans People of Color Coalition of Columbia, Missouri, spoke to the Senate in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. His speech was the first-ever Senate testimony from an openly transgender witness.

The Episcopal Church approved a change to their nondiscrimination canons in 2012 to include gender identity and expression.

The D.C. Office of Human Rights created the country’s first government-funded campaign to combat anti-transgender discrimination in 2012.

In 2012 the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission expanded upon individual court cases by ruling that Title VII does prohibit gender identity-based employment discrimination as sex discrimination. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission declared, "intentional discrimination against a transgender individual because that person is transgender is, by definition, discrimination 'based on ... sex' and such discrimination ... violates Title VII". This ruling was for a discrimination complaint filed by the Transgender Law Center on behalf of transgender woman Mia Macy, who had been denied a job due to her gender identity. The ruling opened the door for any transgender employee or potential employee who had been discriminated against by a business hiring 15 or more people in the US based on their gender identity to file a claim with the EEOC for sex discrimination.

Also in 2012, the FAA's Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners modified its medical certification procedures for transgender pilots to only require current clinical records, an evaluation from a psychologist or psychiatrist with experience in transgender issues, and, if the pilot has had surgery, a post-operative report. Transgender pilots were previously required to undergo additional psychological tests such as personality, projective, and intelligence tests that cisgender pilots were not required to undergo.

In January of 2012 the Argentina government Passes the Gender Identity Law, enabling citizens to change their names and government-sanctioned sex on official documents without approval from a judge or doctor. At When passed, Argentina became the only country in the world to allow individuals to change one's sex without medical or legal approval.

In May of 2012 the world witnessed the first major rock star to ever publicly come out as being transgender. Tom Gabel, lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the punk band Against Me!, announced in the May issue of Rolling Stone Magazine that he himself is Transgender, and will be now making the transition into Laura Jane Grace.

On May 18th, 2012, the International Transgender Historical Society launches their new online museum website which now includes the ITHS Hall of Fame.

Malaysian M-toF transgender makeover artist, Angi AnQi Ng, is appointed as the newest Board of Director for the International Transgender Historical Society on May 18th, 2012. Angie AnQi Ng is a make-over artist for a very well known crossdressing Studio in Malaysia. For well over a decade, Angie has been responsible for transforming ordinary men into beautiful, picture perfect women.

The International Transgender Historical Society inducts 10 people into the Transgender Hall of Fame on May 18th, 2012.

Also in 2012, Bring It On: The Musical premiered on Broadway, The play featured the first transgender teenage character ever in a Broadway show - La Cienega, a transgender woman played by actor Gregory Haney.

On June 12th, 2012, transgender woman, CeCe McDonald, is sentenced to 41 months in a men's prison for her alleged involvement in stabbing a man with scissors. Supporters of McDonald say that she was defending herself against a group of people who came at her and her friends with a bar glass, in a racist and trans-phobic attack.

Australian M-to-F transgender activist, Michelle Diamond, is announced as the newest Board of Director for the International Transgender Historical Society on August 8th, 2012. Michelle Diamond is the President of "Freedom! Gender," a support group for Transgender diverse people in Queensland Australia.

British M-to-F transgender activist & promoter Vicky Lee, US m-to-F transgender promoter Stephanie Danderson, and US M-to-F transgender activist Ami Nicole Mansell are all announced as the newest Board of Directors for the International Transgender Historical Society on August 14th, 2012.

The Transgender Law Center holds their 10th Annual Spark Awards at the San Francisco War Memorial & Performing Arts Center on October 4th, 2012.

Candy Magazine (fashion magazine for transvestites, transgenders, & transsexuals) receives some controversy over their cover of their 5th issue, published in December 2012. The cover features transgender model, Connie Flemming, dressed & posing as Michelle Obama while taking an oath of office.

For the second year in a row, UK Transgender singer, Chrisie Edkins, embarkes on a world tour in 2013, performing at LGBT Pride events for free in order to help spread transgender & transsexual awareness.

On January 8th, 2013, the International Transgender Historical Society inducts 15 nominees into the ITHS Transgender Hall of Fame’s Class of 2013.

On January 12th, 2013, Kylan Arianna Wenzel becomes the first ever transgender woman to ever compete in the Miss California USA pageant.

In early February of 2013, the University of Michigan announces that they will soon open gender neutral housing and restrooms on their Ann Arbor campus.

On February 15th, 2013, Transgender advocacy group, Gender Justice LA, marches to the offices of the Los Angeles Times and presents them with a signed petition that includes over 300 signatures, demanding that the newspaper use more delicacy when writing about transgender men & women. The petition was in response to a controversial February 4th article published in the LA Times that was a about a November 17th, 2011 murder of a transgender woman in LA.

The 5th Annual Tranny Awards are held on February 17th, 2013 in Glendale, California

Former navy seal, Kristin Beck, publishes her memoir Warrior Princess: A U.S. Navy Seal's Journey to Coming out Transgender on June 1st, 2013. Earlier in the year Kristin became the first navy seal to ever come out as transgender.